Kim Nielsen

Kim E. Nielsen, an American historian and Distinguished University Professor of Disability Studies at the University of Toledo specializes in the history of disability, gender, eugenics, and law. Nielsen has been serving as a professor at the University of Toledo since 2012, and her academic work is recognized in authority control databases such as ISNI and VIAF.

As an author, Nielsen has made significant contributions to her field. She has written the widely used "A Disability History of the United States," the first analysis of disability throughout US history, covering the period prior to European arrival through the present. This work is the first broad survey of its topic and the first to lay out a complete periodization of American disability history. In addition to this, Nielsen has authored multiple other articles and books, including two on Helen Keller and one on Anne Sullivan Macy. She has also co-edited the award-winning Oxford "Handbook of Disability History" and the Disability Histories book series published by the University of Illinois Press. Nielsen's most recent accolade is winning the 2021 Rosen Prize of the American Association for the History of Medicine for The Oxford Handbook of Disability History, which she co-edited with Michael Rembis and Catherine J. Kudlick.

Nielsen's expertise in the field of disability studies has led her to participate in documentaries such as the "American Masters" episode "Becoming Helen Keller" (2021), where she served as an on-screen expert. Her work has been recognized with honors from the Organization of American Historians (OAH) and the Southern Association for Women Historians (SAWH). She was the founding president of the Disability History Association. Nielsen's influence extends to the academic community as well, as she co-edited the Disability Studies Quarterly with Allyson Day from 2015 to 2018. Nielsen is a prolific speaker, delivering presentations and webinars on disability history and disability justice. She has also been interviewed on a podcast about disability studies. She received her Ph.D. at the University of Iowa.